Hello my name is Jubi Kang, I am 22 years old and I am currently part of the Cambodia Mokjang. I have been in Onnoori church from the day I was born. If you do not recognize me, it is because I am usually helping the teachers in the Sunday School downstairs. I apologize for anyone who may not be as fluent in English or do not understand me at all, but I wanted to make sure to fully express myself for this. I thought it might also encourage any other English speakers who are attending our church to not be afraid to speak in English or to take this course. I am standing here today to give you a testimony as someone who has recently taken one of the required courses for house churches, called Living Life Study or (생명의 삶).

I have heard many times before that this study is a mandatory class for understanding the basics of our church. At the beginning, I was actually quite interested in taking the class, because despite having gone to church for a long time, I have never really learned what it meant to be a Christian, so I was curious. However, I delayed taking this class, because it was hard for me to understand difficult Korean words. I also thought it would be awkward because I would be amongst older adults which means that I would get very shy and not be able to ask questions if I needed to. I was finally convinced to take this class, when I was told that this was going to be a hybrid class with English and Korean AND because there would be younger friends that might fit my age group.

Before taking this class, all I knew was that I had to obey the elders, that I have to go to church every Sunday, and that I have to serve others like Jesus. I always did what I was told to do, I helped when someone asked. I learned all the values and stories at church, but I didn’t understand what that meant, or rather I had an IDEA of what it meant to be a Christian. After taking the course, I now understand what it means not only to BE a Christian, but to LIVE as a Christian. I learned that even for those who always had a faith, learning the very foundations can still be extremely helpful. Turns out, there are still things you can learn about faith after 20 years of going to church. Personally, it helped me ground myself as a Christian, re-solidified my faith, and it has made it a lot easier to navigate my daily life outside of church.

One of the things I enjoyed from the class was actually all the readings, or the dreadful weekly homework. Even though I had read these Bible passages many times before, I felt like I was seeing a new side of Jesus. The Jesus I knew before this class was always Holy, divine, and full of grace, but the Jesus I read during this class was also very funny, charismatic, and most importantly, very human. Understanding Jesus as a human makes him feel a lot more approachable, and it helps me pray to him more easily and comfortably. I also realized that I had been so busy studying as a student, maintaining friends outside of church, teaching children inside of church, that I never really had the time to sit down and develop my own personal relationship with God. For anyone who may be too busy or forgetful, we actually spend some time during one of the classes to really focus on experiencing the Holy Spirit so you can take advantage of that moment to focus on your relationship with God. Well, that’s what I did anyway.

I would recommend this course to someone like me, who was born and raised in faith, but didn’t have time to really understand any of it. The Living Life Bible study builds a structure of all basic elements of Faith into one concrete base. This base helped me ground myself, and organized everything I learned very neatly. While taking this class, every day I went back home and sometimes even told my Non-Christians friends about what I learned, because everything is simplified and easy to understand. Even for those who never stepped foot in church, it was easier to explain to them what we do at church. That is why, if anyone is hesitating, I think it is a great introduction and opportunity to learn about Christianity and see how it helps you in your spiritual life. Thank you !